Benoît Godin was a Canadian
political scientist
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
and
sociologist.
Biography
Benoît Godin is mostly known for his research into the history of
statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...
, statistics of
innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...
, and of the ideological roots of the concept of innovation.
[Benoît Godin]
The Culture of Numbers:From Science to Innovation
Communication presented to the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR)US National Academy of Sciences, Washington May 21, 2001. After a first degree at the
Université Laval
(; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...
(1984) in Québec (CA), he obtained a PhD at the
Science Policy Research Unit
The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...
(SPRU) the
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...
(UK) in 1994). From February 1993 until his death he was professor at
Institut national de la recherche scientifique
The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (; "National Institute for Scientific Research") is the research-oriented constituent university of the Université du Québec system that offers only graduate studies. INRS conducts research in ...
INRS, Québec (CA).
Work
The work of Benoît Godin covers both the history of quantification and that of innovation. He worked on measurement statistics in science, on the history of science proper, as well as that of technology and innovation. In the last years of his life he focused on the intellectual history of innovation, noting how the ‘superlative’ connotation of the term innovation is recent, in relative terms, as it had a rather negative connotation until the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Books
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*(As editor with Dominique Vinck) Critical Studies of Innovation: Alternative Approaches to the Pro-Innovation Bias.
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See also
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Innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...
*
Science and technology studies
Science and technology studies (STS) or science, technology, and society is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts.
Histo ...
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Social construction of technology
Social construction of technology (SCOT) is a theory within the field of science and technology studies. Advocates of SCOT—that is, social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action ...
References
External links
Page of Benoît Godin at INRS* Page o
''The Idea of Innovation'' A project funded by the Canadian
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
CASTI Network Conceptual Approaches to Science, Technology, and Innovation: An Interdisciplinary Research Network.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godin, Benoit
Sociologists of science
Science studies
Science and technology studies scholars
Social constructionism
Sociology of scientific knowledge
21st-century Canadian philosophers
Canadian philosophers of science
Philosophers of technology
1958 births
2021 deaths